Today’s show is for people interested in the current election but sick of the usual political noise. The guests are two highly experienced political analysts, Dan Schnur and Richard Zeiger, who will teach an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute class at the University of California Davis this fall called “An Election Like No Other.”

On Davisville today we talk about why this presidential election is both different and traditional, why many elected offices are uncontested, cynicism as a turnoff and as a way to cope, and young Americans who opt to get involved in their community outside of politics. "Volunteering is noble," Schnur says, "but you can only clean up so many parks. Participating by voting or running for office or getting involved in other ways is equally important."

“One of the most important lessons about politics … It leads to a democracy [and] you have to be willing to lose,” says Zeiger, who lives in Davis. "That’s what the whole business is about, somebody’s going to win and somebody’s going to lose. And when you lose, you pull your pants back on and you go back into the fray.”

NOTE: Between minute 13:10 and 15:30 in this broadcast we had some technical difficulties

Billy Larkin joined me in the studio this week to discuss the power of music. He chose these songs to talk about, and we played snippets from most:

• 'Imagine'  (John Lennon) Possibly one of the most important songs ever written. Full stop.
• 'Adagio for Strings'  (Samuel Barber) Humanity's guidebook to empathy.
• Beethoven's 7th Symphony [2nd movement] See above and add hope and perseverance.
• 'That's the Way of the World' (Earth, Wind & Fire)  When I realized I was happy to be alive.
• 'Music for 18 Musicians'  (Steve Reich) Wonder at the possibility of creation. 
• 'Blackbird'  (Lennon/McCartney) Love=Beauty=Sadness=Joy=Art

From his website: "Billy Larkin is an award-winning pianist/composer who has been bringing his individual brand of musical artistry to audiences for over 40 years. He is a composer and arranger who defies easy categorization and helps define true expression through the collaborative process."

"Music gives the soul to the universe" -- Plato

"Music is the food of love, play on"  -- William Shakespeare

Emese Parker (pictured), an author and certified nurse practitioner specializing in women's health, began offering Davis Women's Circles this summer. Each has a theme -- one session focused on the perfect mom myth vs. the good-enough mother, and others include the mental load of mothering, rage and guilt, plus "some fun topics coming up this fall." The circles are for mothers, or soon-to-be mothers, of all ages and stages of life. Today on Davisville she explains how they work and why she's offering them in Davis.

The U.S. Surgeon General recently warned that parenting today is too hard and stressful because parents face expectations that they should spend ever more time and money educating and enriching their children, driven partly by fears that if they don’t, their kids could fail to achieve a secure, middle-class life.

Today we also talk about matrescence, a play on the term adolescence, or the “massive identity shift and transformation that affects all that she is.” “If we understand that it is a becoming process," Parker says, "then we can have real conversations about what parenting and motherhood is like. We don’t have to just smile and say 'oh yeah, everything is just fine.' We can actually have real conversations with each other and talk about what we’re enjoying, and what parts are harder than expected."